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Sunday, August 06, 2006

I was looking through some of her early baby photos, and I can't believe how much she has changed. She's even a totally different color. (To Tree and anyone else who wondered if I'd sheared Cary because she looked lighter--no, the sun is bleaching her wool. Plus sometimes the camera makes her appear even lighter if the sun is hitting her--like on her back in this photo.)

At age three months, Cary is happy and healthy and doing just fine. She is 23 inches high, 35 inches from the tip of her nose to the base of her tail, and weighs 45 pounds (some of you were very close with your guesses!). We still spend much of the day together, as she has not been fully assimilated back into the flock yet (though she mingles with them in the afternoon and sleeps in the barn with them every night).

We have fallen into a comfortable daily routine which begins each morning when I greet her in the barn with a bottle of milk replacer, and she sucks it down in about two seconds flat. Then we push Dan outside, count the sheep, and set everyone free so they can graze in the fields. I prepare Dan and Leopold's treats while Cary nibbles on some oats. Then I feed Dan, and Cary runs over and starts inhaling his food (you'd think she would have learned her lesson). Fortunately Dan can be a very patient donkey. We take care of any barn chores that need doing (replenishing minerals and salt, filling water troughs), and then we follow Dan as he heads out to the front field in search of the flock.

If all is well, after a little while Cary and The Nanny Bear and I walk up to the house, where I work in the garden, Cary works on eating it, and The Nanny Bear keeps an eye on both of us. Breaks from the heat are taken indoors. These days Cary usually prefers to lounge on the living room floor with my dirty long-sleeved gardening shirt that is hanging on a chair draped over her head. (Lambs recognize their mothers by smell, not sight. Or, as Joe put it, "Honey, she loves your stink.") If it is very hot, she will join me in my air-conditioned little office and either quietly stand by my side chewing her cud or curl up at my feet while I sit at the computer--just as she's done from the start.

Every day with Cary continues to be a precious adventure. She keeps very busy growing up and learning new things.

Back when she was just three weeks old, she attempted to take her first drink of water--and then she tried to eat the bucket.

Joe Giving Cary Lunch On June 7th

And while she still loves her bottles of milk replacer more than anything else in the world (well, except me--I think). . .

She now sips water like a perfect little lady.

Thanks for all of your wonderful words of support over the past three months. I had no idea my tiny "bum" lamb would become this popular. I'm just thrilled that Cary has so many dear friends and fans around the world. I'm looking forward to sharing more of our lives together with you over the coming months (and hopefully years!).

Hi Susan - if Cary was a Shetland sheep she'd have changed colors three times by now LOL - after you shear, they don't even recognize each other - lots of head banging goes on - I'd say Cary is probably arount 40 lbs. by now...she's a grownin' girl - with a very sweet face too - you can tell her "mama" is very proud of her :-) Tina

You know a blog has touched your life when you refer to it in "real life". The boyfriend and I were hiking at the semi-local state park yesterday, when we came across a section of trail that was quite overgrown. My boyfriend said, "Wow, almost need a weedeater!" I replied, "Or a sheep!" And then of course I had to explaing myself, "Remember that lady who kept the little lamb I was telling you about..."

It was funny, all I pictured on that path was your photo post of Cary helping you reach the raspberries (it was raspberries, wasn't it?).

Wow - only three months?? Hard to believe - and look how much she's grown! Won't be long before she's curled up at your feet in front of the fireplace while it's snowing outside. Granted, by then she'll be big enough you'll be able to rest your feet on her while she sleeps!

I can hardley believe it has been 3 months either. How grown up Carey is now. Thanks for keeping us updated, and letting us know how she is doing. It sure is fun reading about her, and how fast she is growing up.

Thank you for allowing us to live and breathe a bit of contentment through your blog. I love animals and nature, and am a bit of a collector myself-certain rocks, fossils shells, old American pottery and glass.

I'm still a fairly new reader and have some catching up to do ... but I have to say, Cary is the sweetest thing I ever saw! The sleeping at your feet under the desk photo just makes my heart feel all warm and fuzzy!!

January 2013 update: I know word verification is a big pain, but it's the only way I can stop the ridiculous number of anonymous spam comments I get every day. I don't want to require commenters to be registered Blogger or Open ID users because I know many of you aren't. Thanks so much for your understanding!

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